People's Daily Online, Beijing, April 7 (Reporter Zhao Zhuqing) Recently, the Yellow River Delta National Agricultural High-tech Industrial Demonstration Zone (hereinafter referred to as the Agricultural High-tech Zone) welcomed a special group of "new farmers" – 92 graduate students from Qingdao Agricultural University officially settled in the National Saline-alkali Land Comprehensive Utilization Technology Innovation Center. Under the guidance of more than 50 instructors from 12 colleges including Agricultural Sciences, Resources and Environment, and Food Science and Engineering, they will move their laboratories to the fields to carry out scientific research on the frontline of saline-alkali land management.
"Move the talent training position to the front line of scientific research on the comprehensive utilization of saline-alkali land." Zhao Jinshan, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and President of Qingdao Agricultural University, said at the move-in ceremony. Du Guangxuan, deputy secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Huangjiao Agricultural High-tech Zone, regarded this move as an important measure for the school and the local government to jointly shoulder the mission of being the "biggest person in the country".
For a long time, there has been a “wall” between university scientific research and industrial needs. The purpose of this move is to break this boundary: students will form interdisciplinary teams in the fields of saline-alkali land biological breeding, production capacity improvement, ecological restoration, etc., and implement the project organization model of "revealing the list and taking charge" and "the subject comes from the front line, and the results go to the front line". The Nonggao District has equipped teachers and students with scientific research experimental platforms, field test bases and "one-stop" living facilities.
"It is necessary to completely break the 'wall' between the campus and the park, allowing students to find projects in the fields and test results on the front lines of industry." Zhao Jinshan put forward three hopes for the first batch of settled students: to care about their country and become "new farmers" with feelings; to be brave in innovation and become capable "scientific research pioneers"; to integrate knowledge and action to become responsible "pillars of the future."
From the campus classroom to the saline-alkali wasteland, these young students with scientific research missions taking root on the front line are the living "seeds" of school-site collaboration to empower national food security. In the future, Qingdao Agricultural University and the Yellow River Delta Agricultural High Zone will rely on the national innovation platform to jointly promote the "four chains" of education chain, talent chain, industrial chain, and innovation chain, cultivate a large number of agricultural science and technology talents who can be retained, used, and perform well for the country, write papers on the land of the Yellow River Delta, and leave the results on the front line of saline-alkali land management.
